There will be a candidates' forum tomorrow for the six candidates who are running for seats on the Hoboken Board of Education. Except we hear that from Frank Raia's slate, only Anthony Oland will show up.

It's true, confirmed Raia today. Neither he nor Hector Irizarry will be there tomorrow because "The Hoboken Family Alliance already endorsed the other slate, so why should I go?," asked Raia, whose seat on the board is up for grabs. Oland will be sent as their lone representative.

However, later today, the Hoboken Family Alliance said that they did not endorse anyone in the Hoboken BoE election.

"I'm moderating and we did not and have not endorsed any slate or any candidate," said Theresa Howard, a 20-year Hoboken resident and board member of HFA. "As a 501(c)(3) organization, we can't. Each of the candidates was invited to attend and to provide their bios which ran in our recent newsletter and Mr. Raia was featured alongside the other candidates."

Sponsored by the Hoboken Family Alliance, the forum will begin at 10 a.m. at Demarest School, most likely in the downstairs lunchroom.

The Hoboken Family Alliance will ask a series of questions to the candidates, on topics ranging from the 2009 budget, state budget cuts, Hoboken's standing as an Abbott district, cost-per-pupil versus school performance, school choice, etc., and each candidate will have two minutes to answer.

The public is invited to come watch and can submit their own questions as well.

The Kids First slate of Theresa Minutillo (she currently sits on the board), Maureen Sullivan (she ran for BoE last year and lost) and Ruth McAllister will be there.

On Monday, candidates met with parents from Hoboken's charter schools and Raia and Irizzary didn't show up to that, either.

"You'd think an incumbent on the school board would want to answer questions," said Minutillo today. "When they have people who can't answer questions, they hide them."

"I've been on the board for six years," countered Raia. "If people don't know me and my record by now, they will never know me."

There are three spots open on the Board of Ed. and the candidates, from either slates, with the three highest votes will fill them. The Hoboken school board election is April 21.